I'm not an AMD fan, but since my first 1.4 Tbird, I've built/bought nothing but AMD systems for me and my family/friends. They just offered better performance/price. I thought Conroe just might turn me to Intel, but after reading about the 4x4 platform, I just can't stop dreaming about it. Before getting my Athlon X2, I seriously thought about twin dual Optys. I turned out that cost of the MoBo, RAM and especially the two dual-core 2xx Opterons was just rediculus. Consider the following rigs:
AMD 4x4: 3x300Euro 19" TFTs, 2x250Euro AM2 X2 (best thing about Conroe is that X2 prices will plummet), 1x500Euro high class video card and 1x40Euro passively cooled GFX 6200 (or similar), just to run the third monitor off (and handle Vista's Aero). Total cost=1940Euro
Intel Core2 Duo: 1x500Euro high quality 19-20" TFT, 1x500Euro for a high speed Conroe, 2x500Euro for SLI/Crossfire video cards. Total cost=2000Euro.

Will the 4x4 need a monster PSU? Sure, but so will the Conroe rig because of SLI/Crossfire. Which would you choose? If you want 100+ FPS or 16x AA, then get Conroe. However the 4x4 will allow you to game AND render video/burn/shrink DVDs on the side without breaking a sweat. I would DEFINETELY get the 4x4 because I wouldn't mind waiting 3hours for a single/dual threaded render to finish (whereas Conroe could do it in less than 2), but I would mind sitting idle the whole time. Conroe can have the world's SuperPI record.
P.S. I pray that 4x4 will work with regular X2s, not just FXs. Otherwise damn you AMD!

The 4x4 system will make 3D rendering geeks very very very happy indeed, since we won't need to pay for server class hardware. Lots of cores makes us lots of happy.

Nice write up.

So how exactly does this differ from a server motherboard with two sockets and two pci x16 slots using nForce 4 Pro?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813130523

It's already here, call me skeptical but locking out all but FX processers is a hell of alot less appealing then a board which supports a variety of speed grades.

It just looks like a re-branding of a existing product for enthusiasts...

However the idea of a co-processer plugin is a a good one. I'm suprised they don't exist yet (ever sense math co-processers disapeared). I would be more inclined to find a extremely fast way of interfacing memory with one processer. Having a gig of L4 cache wouldn't be that bad.

We need a Beowulf operating system that uses hypertransport links instead of nics. Beowulf would parse the sequences of instructions in application threads into packets, generating additional code to store/move/read/lock/delete dependent varaiables between the cores, allocates the packets at the OS level to the various cores, processes dependent variables as necessary, then reassembles the results. That said, tongue in cheek...

I think this is great news. Just let it also work with the 265, 270, 275, 280, 285 CPU's and I'll be buying one. An OS that supports multiple simultaneous users would run just dandy on one of these multi-core wonders. Might make a very fine gaming platform.

Wow have the tables turned. Conroe will make intel the price/performance winner. Intel will be providing lower cost, higher performing chips while AMD has more expensive slower chips. Wow.

Why do i feel that for gaming i should not invest in pc any more.... cause they are just getting expensive .... i think PS3 would be a good choice atleast games wont be slow... or any other hassels. and best of all $600 and ur done with it for atleast 3 years no upgrading what so ever....

Hey, I have an Oreck XL. It's easy to move up and downstairs. :)

Latest Steam hardware survey:

http://www.steampowered.com/status/survey.html

Multi-GPU Systems (5494 of 711282 Total Users (0.77% of Total) )

I guess there's a lot of SLI motherboards being sold that aren't being used for SLI at all. Makes you wonder why people just don't get the Ultra.

My thoughts:

Limiting to FX series sucks. I want my Sempron MP.

The idea of a specialized coprocessor + dual core is much more appealing to me than 4 cores.

SLI / Crossfire still sucks. Buying one high end card is a much better value. For dudes with fat wallets though, more power to you, I ain't a hater.

At the end of the day, my next PC will still be low end core2 or low end X2, or perhaps even another stop-gap Sempron. I guess it depends on how much multi-threaded software is available when the time comes.

Think of all the short-lived self esteem a rig like this would buy.

HYPE-rtransport indeed.

How embarassing will it be when this so-called 4x4 system is spanked by a Conroe in the vast, vast majority of games that don't make use of any multithreading?

Try again, AMD. The "Brute Force And Ignorance" approach to performance has never been your forte. Now suddenly you're drinking "the more is better" Kool-Aid. K8L better come soon.

That coherent HT part sounded really cool in my ears (or eyes, whatever). It seems that more and more computer parts need a more direct route to the system/processor, where the usual ports are either too slow, or suffer too high latencies to be a good option.

AMD sounds like they are putting a bandaid on their lackadaisical approach to innovention since the A64 was released.

I applaud Intel for taking advantage of it.

Hopefully, once Intel is lackadaisical in THEIR lead after core 2 is released, AMD will get off their butts and release a product that kicks core 2's ass.

and on and on until I get the perfect processor ;)

/awaits both intel and amd fanatics to attack me.

Now this sounds good to me .... a overkilling machine for any application.. but it should be without FX series what so ever.... any suggestions friends

Good grief.Have we really just gotten rid of the Mhz race to now be spectators to the core race?
I wonder how many TR users out there are often bemused by the way their killer hardware PC just loafs along most of the time rendering simple things like this webpage,a 3D game or checking their Email?
My system is great with all I do on it and all I have is Hyper threading to handle multitasking.
I can have BF2 running smooth,be VoIP chatting with the chopper pilot and if I had to run some other app.
The guys with the cool Dual Core AMDs and Intels right now are probably barely breaking a sweat running all their stuff.
Surely 2006 Dual Cores are enough?

I like it alot, imagine being able to plug in a specialty divx or mpeg encoding chip.

As for the conroe, I don't see why everyone is so hyped, I would rather the game stay neck and neck. Besides its only marketing now, these sly fox's have think tanks figuring out how to fool consumers, how to fool you...

i always thought that PCI was too slow for the PPU, which has to get data from the CPU, send it back, and is then sent to the video card to be rendered... wouldn't a HT link actually make it useful?

lol ... too complex my arse.
There is some great tech in there, but not really anything above and beyond what was originally expected from this HT thingy. 'bout time.
The more cores the better IMHO, but software is totally holding back things. Vista will fix that .. more, but there is still need for the industry as a whole to address the reality of a multiprocessor windows system.
Considering Alienware was bought by Dell for less then a day's sales, it makes sense to me that all parties would cozyup for deployment, since AMD wants IN.
I'd like to see those HTX's though.
/Mr. Wasson Rulz plug.
But two sockets is still nothing new.